Thank You
by GodOfAllCats
Summary: Being a twin means you share pretty much everything, and for Maia and Scott McCall that includes the werewolf bites that change their lives. Maia McCall struggles with being the twin of the fascinating Scott McCall while juggling school, relationships and being a werewolf all in one.


**(A/N: Hi there! So this is my first Teen Wolf fanfic, and the first fic I've written at this length. So please review and let me know what you think! Thank you, and enjoy!)**

Maia turned over in her bed, she could hear Scott next door, unsure what he was doing, but annoyed enough to slip out of bed and wrap herself in her blanket. He might not have been interested in actually sleeping before the first day of school, but Maia most certainly was. Flicking on her light, Maia pulled open her bedroom door and walked to the door only inches beside her own. The door was wide open, and Maia could see Scott playing with his lacrosse stick and a small white ball. Maia watched as Scott threw the ball only slightly in the air before catching it effortlessly. She watched a few times, rolling her eyes at her brother.

"What are you doing, Scott?" Maia asked, catching her brother off guard so the ball fell with a large thump on the floor. Scott turned, almost falling off his bed as his eyes met Maia's. "Well?" Maia asked, raising a brow at Scott curiously. Maia watched her brother place the lacrosse bat on the bed beside him, and stand, trying not to blush.

"I was practicing, for, well practice." Scott explained lamely, causing Maia to laugh. Unlike Scott, Maia didn't care much for sports, in fact, she did it very badly conpaired to Scott (and that said a lot considering the fact he lived on the bench during the lacrosse season). Instead, Maia lived more on the artistic side. Gracefully enough, Maia pushed herself off of Scott's doorframe and walked into his room, sitting down on the bed beside Scott.

"You know, some people get to sleep without hearing their brother playing lacrosse by himself in his room?" Scott laughed as he picked up his lacrosse stick again, and rolled it between both his hands slowly.

"You know, some people get to play lacrosse in their room by themselves without their little sister barging in and complaining they can't sleep." Scott countered, Maia glared. She was the younger twin by an hour, and Scott ensured Maia didn't forget it. Maia turned to retort, but the sound of banging about outside caused both siblings to turn to each other startled. Scott placed a finger to his lips, and slowly stood up, Maia following his lead silently. Scott placed his lacrosse stick down on the bed once again, and walked to his bedroom door so he could pick up the baseball bat behind it. "Stay behind me." He whispered, Maia nodded, and took hold of Scott's shirt as the two of them made their way to the source of the noise, the side porch. Scott turned and nodded his head at Maia before unlatching the door, the bat ready to swing. Scott screamed before Maia could react, causing Maia to jump back, nearly stumbling on her own two feet.

"Jesus!" Maia exclaimed, barely regaining her own balance, Scott reached out and pulled Maia forward only slightly.

"Stiles?" Scott breathed out, confirming the boy hanging upside down to be their childhood best friend. "What the hell are you doing?" Scott eased the baseball bat, as Stiles still hung upside down.

"You weren't answering you phone, either of you!" Stiles accused looking between the twins, Maia, like every night, switched off her phone. But she couldn't answer for Scott. "Why do you have a bat?" Stiles questioned, still hanging from the roof. Scott lifted the bat again, almost as if he had forgotten he had it.

"I thought you were a predator!" Scott defended. Maia nodded in agreement behind Scott, what more did Stiles expect? Stiles, on the other hand, seemed to think this conclusion seemed ridiculous.

"A predator?" Stiles asked confused, before shaking his head and leaping down onto the porch. "Look, I know it's late but you guys need to hear this. I saw my dad leave twenty minutes ago. Dispatch called, they're bringing in every officer from the Beacon department and even state police." Maia could already sense the trouble leaking off of Stiles' words. Stiles seemed incredibly excited over whatever had caused his dad to leave, that did not mean she wanted to know. Stiles and Scott had always seemed to pull Maia into trouble, no matter how much she had tried to avoid it.

"For what?" Scott asked, his own curiosity over-powering him. Maia silently cursed, whatever Stiles was getting himself into, Scott would follow, and Maia not far after.

"Two joggers found a body in the woods!" There were few things somebody should not be excited about, and Maia found that Stiles got excited about all of them. Including a dead body in the woods.

"A dead body?!" Scott asked, Maia could hear the spike of surprise in her brother's voice. Maia shook her head, Stiles must have misheard something.

"No, a body of water." Stiles spat out sarcastically. "Of course a dead body!" Scott's eyebrows seemed to jump to his hairline, but Maia only eyed Stiles dubiously.

"Hold on," Maia said, always the voice of reason. "If they've already found the body, then what are the police looking for?" A large grin spread across Stiles' face. The grin that always meant trouble.

"That's the best part. They only found half." Stiles explained, Maia could feel the dread in the pit of her stomach, she knew exactly what that meant.

Just as Maia replied, "I wouldn't call that the best part." Scott responded with an equal 'trouble-making' grin. "We're going!"

The ride from their house to Beacon Hills Reserve seemed to take forever for Maia, who had sat in the back seat of Stiles' old jeep. The black tarmac of the road had only been lit by the bright beams of the jeeps headlights, but the shadows that lurked between the trees made Maia slightly uncomfortable. She wasn't a fan of the dark in the slightest. Stiles and Scott talked happily about the supposed body, and Maia shook her head. Stiles being the sheriff's son somehow got them in far more trouble than you would think, and Maia had only come along so that the trouble the two boys got themselves in wasn't as bad as it could have been. The dead body search was no different. Stiles parked his jeep up, and hopped out, along with Scott, and pulled his seat toward the steering wheel and held his hand out to Maia. Stiles was always more of a gentleman as he made himself out to be, and Maia happily took his hand so she could leap out. Maia's boots hit the dirt ground with a gentle thud, and looked down at her hand in Stiles' before letting go, embarrassed with her delayed reaction.

"We're really doing this?" Maia asked, wrapping her arms around herself and staring back at the woods unsure. Stiles shut the door behind her and nodded his head determined.

"You're always the one saying nothing happens in this town, now something has, and your backing out?" Stiles challenged. "Besides, you've got me and Scott to watch your back from all the monsters, right Scott?" Stiles patted Maia on the back as he flashed a smile at Scott, who looked more disgruntled than agreeable.

"I was trying to get a good nights sleep before practice tomorrow," Scott argued as Stiles went to his trunk to rifle around for a flashlight. Satisfied, he shot Scott a pointed look. Maia sighed, at least she wasn't the only one who knew her brother was lying.

"Right, because sitting on the bench is such a gruelling task." Stiles threw sarcastically, causing Maia to laugh nervously. It wasn't a lie, she had been the supportive sister and gone to all the games that Scott and Stiles had played in – but neither had any particular talent for lacrosse. The fact they had made the team was something of a miracle.

"No, because I'm playing this year. In fact, I'm making first line." Scott proclaimed, puffing out his chest slightly as Stiles began to walk towards a footpath leading into the woods. Maia followed, sticking close behind him.

"That's the spirit," Maia responded, flashing Scott a grin. "Everyone should have a dream, even if it is a pathetically unrealistic one." Maia almost regretted it, as she felt Scott nudge her arm, hard.

"Shut up." He grumbled, though even in the dark, Maia could see the faint smile on her brother's face. After a short silence, Scott spoke again. "Out of curiosity, what half of the body are we looking for?" Both Maia and Stiles looked at Scott. The trees already surrounded them, and Maia was trying to forget about the whole body situation.

"Uh, I didn't think about that." Stiles answered, this was no comfort to Maia who was now gripping the back of Stiles' shirt, chewing on her lower lip and pretending she was not in a set of woods that a body was just discovered in. Maia finally released Stiles' shirt as the trio came to a hill decorated in fallen leaves and leaning trees. Maia had found the hill a challenge in itself, but Scott more so.

"It's comforting to know you planned this out with your usual attention to detail." Scott breathed out, taking Maia's open hand gratefully, as she helped pull him up the rest of the hill. Stiles had made it up the hill, and had barely looked behind to realise he had left the twins in almost complete darkness.

"Maybe the severe asthmatic should hold the flashlight, Stiles?" Maia pointed out, helping Scott towards a tree so he could lean against it. Scott rolled his eyes as he fumbled with his inhaler, pulling it from is pocket and taking a few quick puffs. Reaching the top of the hill had clearly been a difficult challenge for all three of them, but as usual, Stiles took it in his rather out of breath stride. Maia gave Scott a reassuring smile as they continued, only to be dragged to the ground moments later by Stiles, Scott ducking down not long after them. Maia landed with a thud, and rubbed her pained knees. "Jesus, Stiles."

"Sorry," Stiles whispered, but his apology lacked any meaning as his eyes focused on darkened silhouettes in front of them. His struggle to turn off the flashlight more then evident as he fumbled with the black plastic. As the figures grew closer, Maia recognised the officers she had grown up seeing around Beacon Hills. Her heart all but jumped into her mouth as the flashlights grew ever closer to the three hiding teenagers. As Maia and Scott pushed themselves towards the ground, Stiles leapt up and ran towards the officers. Scott stumbled up, pulling Maia with him.

"Stiles!" They both called after him in hushed voices, attempting to hurry towards Maia without tripping over their own feet. They both prayed he'd at least stop and wait for them, considering he was the one with the flashlight. This wasn't the case, and Scott was already pulling Maia behind a tree with him as Stiles slowed. Maia caught sight of Sheriff Stilinski before she was pulled against Scott's chest and in the shadows of the trees.

"Hang on," Maia could hear the tired voice of the Sheriff over the barking police dogs. "This little delinquent belongs to me." Maia held her breath, they were going to be caught by the Sheriff once again, Maia could already see the annoyed look on her mom's face.

"Dad!" Stiles' voice travelled towards them now, and Maia could hear the phoney surprise in his voice. "How are you doing?" Maia tried to suppress the sigh, and wondered if Scott was as well, Stiles wasn't a very good actor at the best of times.

"So, uh, do you listen to all my phone calls?" The Sheriff didn't even sound like he was playing, and Maia could understand why he wasn't entertaining Stiles in the slightest.

"No.." Stiles began, "not the boring ones anyway." He said in way of confession. Scott poked his head round the tree, only to duck back just as fast at the flash of light that skirted in their direction.

"And where's your usual partners in crime?" The Sheriff asked, and now Maia waited with baited breath. They were going to get caught, she could feel it. And once they were, they were going to be hauled back to Stiles' jeep and embarrassed to no end.

"Who? You mean Scott and Maia?" Stiles seemed to ask, and Maia rolled her eyes, who else would the Sheriff be referring to? "Scott wanted to get a good nights sleep, and M? Who knows what's she's up to." Stiles lied, "it's just me, in the woods…alone." Even Maia could tell in the way Stiles spoke that he knew how stupid he sounded. The light appeared again, and the Sheriff's voice called out towards them.

"Scott? Maia? Are you two out there?" Scott held Maia in place so neither could move out from behind the tree and expose Stiles for the liar he was currently being. "Well," the Sheriff spoke, the beam of light disappearing. "Young man, you and I are going back to your jeep and having a long talk about a little thing called 'invasion of privacy'." Maia could hear the company go, but she and Scott didn't move until they could no longer hear anyone else.

"Now what? Are we just going to walk home?" Maia huffed out, turning to Scott. With Stiles gone, they neither had a flashlight or a ride back home, they were practically stranded in the woods. She could see Scott shrug.

"I guess we better get started," he said after looking around the woods, as if he were looking for some sort of solution. With a sign, Maia began to walk with Scott through the woods – trying to retrace steps they couldn't even see. Odd noises caused Maia to jump, and clean to her brother's arm tightly. If she hadn't thought it once before, she had thought it a thousand times, Maia hated the woods. Scott didn't seem bothered, however, powering through, stopping every now and then to puff at his inhaler. But when he paused for the third time, Maia wished he hadn't. The stampede came from nowhere, Maia had never seen so many deer. Scott pulled Maia down to the ground, partially shielding Maia along with himself as the deer sped above them. Maia could feel her chest contract in panic as she reached for Scott, the world felt as if it were spinning, but for some miracle, not a single deer touched her. The world cleared above her, and Maia stared up at the clear sky, her breathing so quick she thought she might have been drowning. She could hear Scott behind her, panting as he pulled himself up into a sitting position, Maia could feel his eyes on her.

"Are you alright?" He asked, slowly dragging himself up, and holding a hand out to Maia. Maia took it as she stood up nodding.

"I'm fine," she breathed out, looking at Scott slightly worried. "Are you?" Maia saw Scott nod, before patting himself down.

"I'm fine, but I've dropped my inhaler." Scott cursed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. The screen lit up the grassy ground as Scott began to look. Maia followed suit, pulling her own phone from her pocket and looking around them. That's when she heard it, the gasp from Scott. Maia turned, Scott had always acted like the brave one, especially when Maia was there, but his gasp sounded like a mixture of fear and surprise. Maia whirled around, expecting another stampede rushing towards them, only for her phone to nearly slip out of her hand. The pale face stared up at them, the eyes wide and unblinking.

"Scott, is that the-?" Maia whispered as she stared at the body, her hands shaking and her stomach churning. Sure, she had seen plenty of gruesome things on tv and in movies, but seeing the real thing was something completely different.

"Maia, don't look at it." Scott warned, backing up towards her, as if he was going to shield her eyes. But it was too late, she was staring down at a body of some poor girl. It took everything in Maia not to scream. The growl caused both Maia and Scott to draw their eyes away from the body. It was a black mass, red glowing eyes focused on them completely. Maia felt the scream she was trying to fight down catch in her throat. It happened so fast. The black mass charged towards them, and Scott had pushed Maia to the side just as the creature pounced at him and grabbed his leg between what Maia assumed was its teeth. Scott's scream was ear-splitting as the creature bit down on Scott, Maia scrambled up. "Run!" Scott was shouting, but Maia couldn't leave him. With shaking legs, Maia stood straight, hunting for something – anything to fight the creature off of Scott. Maia grabbed the large stick, her heart pounding, Scott's screams of pain filling her ears.

"Hey, get off of him!" Maia yelled out shakily, running towards the creature with the branch, and hitting at it as hard as she could. It released Scott, and focused on her. Maia was on the ground before she could fight back, the sharp pain in her right shoulder was almost too much for her to take. Maia let out a scream as she tried to pull away from the creature, she kicked out and pulled at the ground but it felt like it was no use. She felt as something pulled her free and the weight of the creature was finally off of her. Maia had no chance to register what was happening, she was already on her feet and stumbling through the woods, her hand in someone else's, a hand around her waist. The rain had already began to fall, the cool drops slowly dragging Maia back into reality as the woods began to recede and she was no longer running on a dirt path but on tarmac. The bright light of headlights broke through her shock, and she was so sure she was going to die. The car swerved, almost hitting them, but not quite.

"Maia? M, come on, snap out of it!" Scott exclaimed, shaking Maia but her uninjured shoulder. Maia looked up at Scott, his brown eyes identical to her own. "Here, let me see." He said softly, pulling back Maia's blooded shirt slightly. Maia bit her lip to avoid the pain, and looked down at her shoulder. The bite mark curved around her right shoulder, creating two bloody crescents on her arm. Maia jolted slightly, looking up at Scott once again.

"What about you? I thought it bit your leg?" Maia asked, staring down at her brother's legs, only to see there was no blood coming from his jeans.

"Not my leg," Scott flinched, as he lifted his shirt to reveal the large bite mark on his left hip. It was just as bloody as Maia's, and just as painful looking as well. The final howl that echoed throughout the night was enough to make Maia never return to the woods again.

Maia and Scott leapt off their bikes, the cool summer breeze tickled at Maia's hair as she tried to ignore the stiff pain in her shoulder. Scott, much to Maia's appreciation offered to lock up both bikes to the racks. The night before still felt like a blur, and Maia couldn't quite piece it together. A dead body, a stampede and an actual wolf attacking them in the dark. It all seemed like a dream, but the sharp pain in her shoulder told her it was as real as she and Scott were. In fact, she was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't realise Jackson Whittmore pulling up beside them, until she heard him hit Scott with his car. Maia jerked her head up, just in time to see Scott rub his arm.

"Watch it, jerk." Maia spat, walking a little closer to Scott. She knew she shouldn't be thankful it was his left side that Jackson had hit, but all Maia could picture was the bloody bite mark on Scott's hip. Jackson flashed Maia a cocky smile, not even bothering to look at Scott.

"Just because you're hot doesn't mean your loser brother doesn't have to to watch the paint work." Jackson purred, winking at Maia who continued to glare. From the corner of her eye she could see a muscle jump in Scott's jaw.

"Dick," Scott muttered under his breath as Jackson walked away, Maia nodded in agreement, following Scott towards the entrance of the school.

"Hey, if Jackson thinks I'm hot, does that mean –" Maia began, laughing at the glare that Scott shot her. Like a moth to a flame, Stiles seemed to appear beside him, a bewildered look on his face.

"Does what mean what?" He asked Maia, who opened her mouth to reply only to be cut across by Scott.

"Don't ask her, it'll just hurt your head." Scott warned. Maia watched as Stiles weighed out the pros and cons of asking Maia what she was talking about. Normally when Scott referred to something hurting Stiles' head, it tended to mean it was related to some weird twin thing. With a short nod, Stiles quickly changed the subject.

"Let's see these things then." Maia had patched Scott up, and he had done the same thing for Maia as soon as they had got in. But when Maia had dragged herself into bed after a much needed shower, Scott had phoned Stiles and filled him in on all that had had happened in the woods. Scott lifted his shirt and pulled back his bandage slightly, as Maia pulled back the collar of her shirt to reveal her shoulder. She refused to look at the injury as she pulled back her own bandage.

"Freaky," Stiles muttered as he examined the injuries, "they're on the same side and everything." With the same odd fascination he had whenever he tried to solve crimes, he leaned forward and touched Maia's own bite marks. Maia hissed in pain, flinching back from Stiles' touch.

"Sorry," he apologised sheepishly as the twins placed their bandages back and sorted their shirts. "So you think it was a wolf that did this?"

"I mean, it was dark, but we're pretty sure it was a wolf." Maia answered as Scott nodded his head in agreement. Stiles, on the other hand, couldn't seem to quite believe it.

"That's impossible," he said, matter-of-factly, "California hasn't had wolves in over sixty years!"

"Then how do you explain the wolf howl?" Scott asked, Maia turned to her brother, she swore she had been hearing things due to shock of the attack and didn't bring up the howl to Scott.

"You must have been delirious, you were attacked in the woods." Stiles excused. Maia placed a hand on her hip and shook her head.

"Don't tell us what we heard Stiles. It was definitely a wolf howl." Maia assures, but Scott seemed hooked on Stiles' facts about California's wolf population.

"Are you sure it's been sixty years?" Scott asked, Maia rolled her eyes, of course Stiles was going to be right.

"Yes, there's been no wolves in California for sixty years." Stiles confirmed, looking between Maia and Scott. Maia sighed and shook her head.

"Well, if you don't believe us about the wolf you sure as hell aren't going to believe us when we tell you we found the body." Maia said, shaking her head at the memory of the legless torso. Stiles, however, seemed delighted by this new line of conversation.

"You've got to be kidding me?" He asked, almost too happy.

"Nope," both Maia and Scott answered at the same time, causing Stiles to pull a face. He had never gotten used to the two speaking at the same time.

"Oh my god," Stiles said, flashing the two of them a smile, "this is going to be the best thing to happen in this town since…since the birth of Lydia Martin." As if on cue, Lydia walked past the trio. "Hey Lydia, you look…like you're going to ignore me again." Stiles said pathetically, lowering his partially raised hand and head. Maia patted Stiles on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Maybe next time, buddy." She said hopefully just as the bell rang indicating that they had to each go to class.

Lit class was, as usual, boring. Maia sat to the left of Stiles with Scott a little bit ahead of them, trying not to fall asleep on top of her notepad. Every now and then, she felt Stiles nudge her with his foot and knew that falling asleep probably wasn't an option on the first day of it school – it didn't set a good precedent for the rest of the year. But Maia could barely help it, her head spun and her shoulder ached, the adventures of last night had done her little to no good. Maia could hear odd buzzing and swore she could even hear voices, but quick glances around the classroom proved to her that nobody was talking, nobody except her lit teacher. Maia didn't know if she should have been grateful or utterly terrified when Scott jumped back slightly, his head whipping back and forth before focusing on something outside of the window. With shaky hands, Maia quickly picked up her pen and tore a piece of paper out of her notepad.

Stiles, I can hear everything. Maia scrolled, waiting for their lit teacher to turn to write something on the chalkboard, and passing the note to Stiles who took it and unfolded it on his own desk. He turned to Maia with a confused look, before focusing on Scott, who still seemed fixated on the outside world. Maia tried to focus on the syllabus, but it was hard with the gradual buzz of the world surrounding her. Just as she thought she was going to scream in frustration, the classroom door opened, accompanied by the principal. Maia watched as he stepped inside, and held the door open for, who Maia thought, a rather pretty girl. She seemed nervous as she walked into the class, her eyes scanning for a spare seat, and focusing on the one just behind Scott.

"Class," the Principal said, almost warningly. "This is our new student, Allison Argent. Just try your best to make her feel welcome." The principal never seemed one with words unless he was giving a speech or yelling at a student. Maia watched as the girl sat down and opened her bag, now only able I see her dark curls. However, Maia could see Scott whirl around, and hand Allison his pen, smiling. Maia rolled her eyes, that was his only pen.

Maia had been grateful for the bell ringing and class being dismissed, what she wasn't happy about was that she now had to go to her locker and find a spare pen for Scott who had told Allison to keep his pen. Scott and Stiles stood either side of her, leaning against the piles of lockers and staring over at Allison and Lydia. Of course, Maia had little to no care who her friend and brother decided to fawn over, her head was still pounding from the faint buzz of the world around her, and panic was beginning to set in. With triumphant, Maia pulled out a pen and handed it to Scott as she slammed her locker door shut.

"Now, I swear if you give this pen to another girl, I'll castrate you." Scott took the pen from Maia without looking away from Allison. "How come it took Lydia three years to remember my name, but less than an hour for her and Allison to be friends?" Maia asked curiously, seeing Scott practically drool from the corner of her eye.

"Because beautiful people flock together." Stiles stated matter-of-factly, not taking his eyes off of Lydia. Maia rolled her eyes at Stiles, and nudged his arm.

"Thanks for that, Stiles. It's nice to know all I have to do to make friends outside my brother and you is to be beautiful." Maia joked, but when Stiles turned to look at her, there was a flash of worry across his brown eyes.

"Oh man, M, you know I didn't mean it like that. You-you're gorgeous." Now Scott had turned his eyes on him, and Stiles' eyes widened. "But y'know, I say that in a completely platonic way because even if your brother is asthmatic and my best friend he might still kick my ass." Maia laughed at Stiles' panic, and pushed herself off her locker.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, I was joking, Stilinski." Maia reassured, shifting her weight and rubbing her shoulder slightly.

"Of course you were." Stiles grumbled under his breath, but still tossed Maia a smile.

Maia dropped herself onto one of the rickety benches that surrounded the Lacrosse field, like every year, she came to practice, if not to watch her brother and Stiles crash and burn miserably, she was their support. Maia watched as Coach tossed Scott goalie gear and knew that it wasn't good. She clasped her hands together and prayed Scott wouldn't get too hurt as Jackson sauntered onto the field.

"Who is that?" Maia looked down in front of her where she hadn't realised Lydia and Allison were in front of her. Maia looked to Lydia, who didn't seem that bothered by the question on Scott.

"Not sure, why?" Lydia asked, and Maia glared. She couldn't understand how Lydia didn't know people in her own classes, especially in a town like Beacon Hills. Allison only shrugged her thin shoulders.

"He's in my English." Was all she said in way of explanation. Maia pulled her eyes from them as she heard laughter on the pitch, her eyes widening as Scott scrambled off of the ground, and he adjusted his helmet. By the smirk on Jackson's face, Maia knew exactly who was responsible for Scott's embarrassment. Maia balled her hands into fists, one day she'd punch that smug look off his face and saunter away happily. She hoped, as the next player lined up that Scott would at least not get hit by the ball. Maia watched as the ball went flying through the air, and for the first time in her life she hoped Scott would just let it fly by, instead of risking any more embarrassment or injury to himself. What Maia didn't expect was the ball to land perfectly in the net of Scott's lacrosse stick. Maia watched as again and again, Scott caught each ball. She couldn't contain her excitement as she jumped up onto the bench and clapped her hands excitedly.

"Yes! Go Scott!" Maia shouted, cheering him on like some maniac. But she didn't care, Scott was playing amazingly and she was so proud. Lydia and Allison had turned around to look up at Maia curiously.

"Do you know him?" Allison asked, she seemed nice and genuinely curious about Scott. Maia smiled, if it gave her brother a leg up in the world. Maia nodded, and felt extremely proud as she watched Scott save another goal.

"He's my brother," Maia told Allison, nodding to Scott. "Scott McCall." Maia flushed at the pride in her own voice, but this didn't seem to bother Allison as she watched Scott catch another goal.

"He's good." Allison complimented, and Maia nodded her head, still a little surprised about how good Scott had gotten.

"Very good," Lydia said, not turning her head as she tapped the bench beside her. "Why don't you sit with us, Maia." Lydia turned, and flashed Maia a smile. Whether it was genuine or not, Maia couldn't tell, but she knew you had to be a fool to reject Lydia Martin. So Maia nodded and clambered down beside the two girls. Maia watched Jackson push past the line of players, and jolted slightly. She could hear his frustrated breaths as he scooped up the ball and ran towards Scott. Maia didn't know she was holding her breath until Scott caught the ball. She leapt to her feet, Lydia jumping up just as quickly. Maia could hear Stiles cheering from the bench, and without thinking Maia rushed down beside him.

"That's my friend!" Stiles yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth as he cheered. Maia grinned as she reached Stiles. Stiles pulled Maia into a hug, before the duo turned back to the pitch and ran toward Scott. With the combined weight of Stiles and Maia, Scott nearly toppled backwards.

"What the hell was that?" Maia asked, still grinning at Scott, who threw his arm around his twin, a large grin plastered on his face.

"McCall?!" Coach yelled, interrupting Scott before he could respond to Maia, both Scott and Maia turned, haunting Coach in his tracks. "I mean, girl McCall." He clarified. "You're not on the team, off the pitch."

Much to Maia's dismay, Scott and Stiles decided they wanted to go back to the woods to search for the other half of the body and Scott's inhaler. Maia had to do everything to keep her balance as the three of them trudged through the muddy hills, mud splattering up Maia's jeans. At the very least, it was light out. Stiles and Scott led the way as Maia trudged behind them – more the unwilling participant of their little party.

"I don't know what it was. It was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball." Scott and Stiles hadn't stopped talking about practice since leaving the field, and really, it had been the same conversation back and forth. Scott had no clue how he'd done what he'd done, and Stiles was still completely intrigued by it all. "That's not the only weird thing," Scott added, now looking back at Maia before continuing. "I'm able to hear and smell things that I couldn't before." Maia stopped then, she was already a little behind Scott and Stiles, but now that she's heard that Scott was hearing things too, she didn't quite know what to do with herself.

"Smelling things, like what?" Stiles asked, raising his brows at Scott.

"Like the mint mojito gum in your pocket." Scott pointed out, causing Stiles to dig into his pockets and pull out a strip of gum. He looked between Scott and Maia confused, before thrusting the gum back into his pocket.

"And all this started with a bite?" Stiles asked Scott, who looked a little worried. Maia nodded her head in answer to Stiles' question.

"Weird," Maia mumbled, looking at Scott curiously.

"What if it's some sort of infection?" Scott panicked, "like, my body is flooding with adrenaline before I go into shock or something!" Scott gestured to his body.

"You know, I think I've heard of this. It's a specific kind of infection." Stiles said gravely, causing both Maia and Scott to look at each other worriedly.

"Are you serious?" Scott asked, his voice cracking slightly. Stiles nodded his head.

"Yeah, I thinks it's called…lycanthrope." Stiles said sinisterly. This did very little to calm Scott's nerves, but Maia just rolled her eyes and shook her head. Stiles really had to stop scaring Scott. Still, Maia tried to smother laughter.

"What? Is it bad? What is it?" Scott asked, panic rising in his voice as he turned between Maia and Stiles who were now grinning at each other like small children.

"Oh yeah," Stiles said, arms crossed over his chest. "The worst, but only once a month." He added off handedly, Maia could barely control her laughter any longer, even she couldn't help but find how gullible Scott was funny.

"Once a month?" Scott breathed out. Stiles hummed out an agreement.

"On the night of a full moon." Stiles said sinisterly, wiggling his fingers at Scott before howling like a wolf. Scott shoved Stiles slightly while Maia laughed. Last night had truly been terrifying, but joking about it made it a lot easier. "Hey, you're the one who said you heard howling." Stiles said, still grinning from ear-to-ear. Maia stopped laughing then. The joke had been funny until she started thinking about it. Maia shook her head, no, there was no such thing as werewolves – any logical person could tell you that.

"There could be something seriously wrong with me!" Scott exclaimed, pointing at his own chest. Maia looked down at her muddied feet, she'd been hearing things that she shouldn't have heard either, but Maia wouldn't dare admit it while Stiles was making light of the situation, even if she had joined in for a bit.

"Yeah, you're a werewolf!" Stiles joked, "I mean, if you see me in shop class melting all the silver, just know I'm preparing for the full moon." Stiles winked at Maia, but seeing her not at least giggle at his joke caused his face to fall. "Oh, come on M, just because you heard some weird things in lit doesn't mean you and Scott are turning into werewolves!" Scott's ears perked up at that.

"Maia, you've been hearing things too?" Scott asked incredulously, eyeing her suspiciously. Maia nodded sheepishly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"It's more like a lot of buzzing, I can't seem to focus on anything. But when you were on the field I heard –" Maia stopped, she couldn't exactly tell Stiles and Scott that she had heard Jackson breathing! But before Stiles or Scott could question her any further, they had arrived at the spot that Maia and Scott had discovered the dead body not even twenty-four hours before. Only now it was gone, no trace there had been a body at all.

"I swear it was right here!" Scott said, looking around the leafy grass confused. "We saw the body just after the deer had come running." Scott explained as Maia nodded her head. It was the right spot, and yet the body had completely vanished There wasn't even an indent in the ground from where it had been.

"Maybe the killer moved it?" Maia suggested, not that it was a thought that happily crossed her mind.

"If he did, I hope he left my inhaler." Scott shot back, now looking about the ground for his inhaler. "Those things are like, eighty bucks." Maia watched as Scott looked around, but there was no proof his inhaler had been dropped there either. It was like any and all evidence from the night before no longer existed. Maia was about to drop down on the ground beside Scott to help find his inhaler when Stiles grabbed hold of Scott and hauled him to his feet, pulling Maia slightly behind him. Maia hadn't heard the arrival of the strange man that stood in front of the three of them, and it appeared that Scott hadn't either. He stood not too far from them, his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket and a glare set on his face.

"What are you doing here?" He called, causing Maia to jump slightly. "This is private property." He stated, eyeing the three of them suspiciously.

"We're really sorry," Maia apologised, fumbling for any sort of excuse she could think of that wasn't looking for a dead body. "We didn't know." She finished lamely, flushing in embarrassment. "We were just looking for something, but…"

"Forget it," Scott grumbled, getting ready to turn his back when the man tossed something at him. Just like in the lacrosse game, Scott caught the object perfectly before looking down, surprised to see his own inhaler. Just like that, the man turned his back and walked away. Maia watched him fascinated, he was practically soundless.

"Right," Scott said after a moment, "let's go, I have work to get to." Stiles, however, was not done on the subject of the mysterious stranger.

"Dude, come on, that was Derek Hale. You remember him, don't you? He was a few years above us." Stiles stated it like it was the most important information that the whole group needed to know.

"Yeah, what about it?" Maia asked, her brows raised. Stiles just gaped at her, it was true Maia didn't keep up with a lot of current events in town, and whatever caused Stiles' excitement of Derek Hale clearly fell under that category.

"Don't you remember his family? They all died in a fire like ten years ago, and Derek pretty much vanished afterwards." Maia nodded her head, they had all been kids when it had happened, but she vaguely remembered seeing it on the news.

"I wonder what he's doing back, then?" Maia hummed in response.

Although they had only been in school for two days, the world really seemed to be looking up for Scott, much to his own enjoyment. Allison had agreed to go on a date, and to top it all of he managed to make first line. Whatever lucky star he had wished on, Maia hoped to find it – if only to make Scott stop talking about his successful week. In fact, Maia had never been happier at the suggestion of visiting Stiles. At least he would pity her, and even sympathise with her on the topic of Scott. What Maia hadn't expected was for Stiles to usher both her and Scott into his room in some bizarre hurry, papers flying almost everywhere.

"Get in, both of you!" Stiles ordered as he shut the door behind the two siblings. Not only did he sound frustrated, but Maia could see the disarray of his rooms, the wooden floor was decorated in papers upon papers. "I've been up all night, reading articles and websites, even books!" Stiles almost yelled, more papers falling from his grip and joining their brethren on the ground.

"Whatever he's had, I don't want." Maia said cooly, surprised even by Stiles' erratic behaviour. Stiles rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Just listen, okay!" Stiles pleaded, Scott leaned against Stiles' wall and raised his brows.

"Is this about the body?" Scott asked calmly, "did they finally find the torso?" Stiles stopped for a moment, like he had forgotten all about the disappearing body.

"No, not yet." Stiles shook his head, "they're still questioning people, including Derek Hale." Maia straightened up slightly then.

"The guy from the woods?" She asked, Stiles nodded but then shook his head.

"Yeah, but that's not it. Do you remember the joke from yesterday? Well, it isn't a joke anymore."

It had taken some convincing, but by some miracle, Stiles had managed to convince the McCall twins that they were werewolves. Not that either of them could really believe it. But, even if he could convince Scott he was a werewolf, there was no way to convince him to cancel his date with Allison. Which meant that Maia was going to the party, if only so Stiles could keep an eye on the twins. Stiles had offered to take Maia to the party while Scott took the family car so he could collect Allison. Maia felt strange as she tugged her leather jacket around her frame and walked down the staircase to find Stiles waiting for her in the front hall. There was nothing awkward, it was just Stiles waiting on Maia, but it felt strange not having Scott ushered down with her – to go to a party just her and Stiles. He gave Maia an awkward wave and a large grin. Maia took a deep breath, it was just her Stiles. Maia smiled back shyly as she met the boy at the bottom of the stairs, he wore his grey blazer over his untucked shirt and she fought the urge to straighten his tie.

"Shall we?" Stiles asked, offering Maia his arm as he turned to face the door, Maia laughed and took it quite happily.

"We shall, Mr Stilinski." Maia granted as she allowed Stiles to walk her to his old blue jeep, he opened up the passenger side like he normally did for her, and hurried around to the drivers side so he could jump in. The drive from her home to the party seemed to take forever for Maia. Her nerves seemed to be on edge, and even the causal small talk from Stiles was doing nothing to calm her. It felt like she was being driven insane, Maia felt like she suffocating, her whole body alert to every sound, she didn't know how Scott could be so calm. She didn't even register the jeep stop, until she felt Stiles touch her hand gently.

"Stiles, I can't do this party." Maia whispered, she could hear all the noise that was going on inside the house, she could smell everything. Maia practically jumped out of her seat when she caught sight of her eyes in the wing mirror of Stiles' jeep. They were no longer brown, but they were glowing a brilliant yellow. Judging by the slight fear in Stiles' eyes, he could see them too. But it was only his eyes that betrayed him, because when Maia snapped her eyes shut, she couldn't hear it in his voice.

"You can do this, Maia. Scott and I will be there. We won't let anything happen to you, and if you need to leave we can get you out of there." Despite the reassurance in his voice, Maia doubted Stiles would be able to handle both her and Scott, but gave him a small smile and nodded her head. "Now, open your eyes, and we'll go in together." It took Maia a moment, but when she opened her eyes and looked at her reflection the yellow glow had simply gone.

Stiles led Maia out the car and to the front door of the party, as they walked up the path, Maia spotted her mum's car parked neatly at the side of the road, and rolled her eyes at the idea of Scott panicking above all else, that he would crash their mother's car. Maia took each step up to the front door with shaken steps, what had been the dull thud of the music inside, blared loudly in her ears to the point Maia wasn't sure she could take it much longer. Stiles opened the door, a steady arm on Maia's lower back, and led them both inside. The world seemed to erupt in sound, and the smell of sweat and alcohol filled the air and Maia's senses. The door closed behind them with a thump, and Maia turned to Stiles. His brown eyes scanned the room and she knew exactly who he was looking for. Maia couldn't spot her brother anywhere in the sea of dancing high schoolers. It would be impossible looking from just the door. It was clear that Stiles felt the same way as he removed his hand from Maia's back.

"We should split up, see if we can find Scott." In most situations, Maia would trust Stiles in what he was saying, but in this moment, she wasn't sure if it was okay for her to be in on her own. Still, it would be easier to find Scott – and both she and Stiles had their cells. Maia gave a quick nod before splitting up with Stiles. Even before being bitten she hated parties, and her hatred for them had clearly not stopped as she pushed through the crowds. Maia scanned each room she went into, in some vague hope that she would find Scott somewhere. But, once Maia had searched her fourth room, she knew she wasn't going to find Scott, and what was worse, she knew she wasn't doing great herself. Her head spun with all the noise that seemed to surround her, her senses were overwhelmed and Maia couldn't guarantee being able to fight against the churning dread in her stomach. In her own panic, Maia ran for an exact, trying to clear her head and hoping against everything that her eyes would not begin to glow again. The cold, night air hit Maia, and she couldn't help but feel grateful at the feel of it on her skin. Maia sat herself down on one of the stone steps, and pulled her leather jacket around herself, her eyes shut as she tried to focus herself. Stiles was right, she would face this with him and Scott, she just had to clear her head first. She could do this.

"Maia?" The voice was soft, but Maia could hear the hint of worry in it. Maia turned quickly, and was met with the worried face of Lydia Martin. Maia could see why Stiles had such a crush on the red head. Not only was she smart but also very pretty. Maia had wondered if she could strike the confidence that Lydia had, not that it would every happen. "Are you okay?" Lydia was now standing just a little bit away from Maia, her green eyes seemed completely focused. Maia shook her head.

"I need Stiles and Scott." Was all Maia could say, her head felt it was about to explode. "Do you know where they are?" Maia could see the spike of annoyance in Lydia's eyes at the mention of Scott. But she still seemed focus on keeping an eye on Maia.

"They both left, is there something I can do? Someone I can call?" Maia shook her head, trying to process what Lydia had said. Scott and Stiles were gone, and with them, any hope of a lift Maia might have gotten. Maia forced a smile on her face and stood up, if she could pretend she could get through this, everything would be okay. Lydia, however still looked concerned.

"It's alright, I'll just walk home, I need to clear my head anyway. I'll see you at school." Before Lydia could say another word, Maia had pushed passed Lydia and back into the house.

Maia wrapped her arms around herself as she cut through the cemetery, glad she had worn her leather jacket after all. Maia knew it wasn't ideal, crossing through the cemetery at night, but it was safer and shorter than the long stretch of road that cut through town, most of which was dimly lit. The quiet was slightly more calming compared to the party. Still, Maia couldn't believe that Scott and Stiles would leave her there, at the very least they could have told her. She could feel her cheeks dampen at the thought, she had relied on Stiles – and now she didn't know what to think. Maia paused as she swiped away tears from her face.

"Hey, are you okay?" Maia jumped, turning on her heels in a panic at the male voice. Maia flushed when she saw the boy, his hair curled at his temples and his blue eyes seemed washed in unknowable concern. Maia wiped at her wet cheeks again, thankful for the dark of the night and nodded her head.

"I uhh, yeah. I'm just passing through, bad night and all." Maia tried to brush off, embarrassed by her tears. The boy, however, didn't even bat an eye. He smiled back at her, and knocked one of the tombstones beside him lightly with his fist.

"Yeah, I get that. You'll be surprised by the amount of people that cut through here because of a bad night." He flashed her a charming grin. "Not that I can say much, I work here." Maia raised her brows and flashed a small timid grin back.

"Must be a bad night every night," Maia joked. The boy laughed lightly and nodded his head.

"Something like that," he shot back, and then held out his hand. "I'm Isaac Lahey, by the way. We're in the same grade." Maia flushed, she should have registered that he went to school with her. Maia took his hand, and shook it.

"Maia McCall," She introduced, but she had already assumed that he knew that. He rubbed the back of his neck, and gestured to the long stretch of cemetery.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" He offered. Maia thought of the long walk ahead, and the fact it was dark. Maybe having Isaac walk her home wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"As long as you won't get in trouble for it, I would like that." Maia consented, smiling up at Isaac brightly.


End file.
